Current Affairs in English – March 31 2023

March 31, 2023

National Events:

Niranjan Gupta:

• The Board of Hero MotoCorp announced the appointment of Niranjan Gupta as the new Cheif Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, effective from May 1.
• Gupta, who currently serves as the CFO and Head of Strategy and M&A, will be elevated to the new role. Meanwhile, Pawan Munjal will remain the Executive Chairman and Whole-time Director on the Board.

‘MicroPay’:

• Axis Bank launched ‘MicroPay’, the first pocket-sized swipe machine in India, based on ‘Pin on Mobile’ technology for accepting digital payments in March 2023.
• It transforms a merchant’s smartphone into a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal, making digital payments easier for customers. The bank launched ‘MicroPay’ along with Ezetap by Razorpay and MyPinpad as the technical solution partners.

Praveer Sinha:

• Tata Power has re-appointed Praveer Sinha as the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director.
• His re-appointment to the top post is for a period of four years from May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2027, subject to the approval of members of the company, Tata Power said in a regulatory filing. His present tenure as CEO and MD is scheduled to conclude on April 30, 2023.

Sumil Vikamsey:

• Sumil Vikamsey, who is currently the CEO of Cash Business at Hitachi Payment Services, has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the company.
• He will take over from Rustom Irani, who is retiring on March 30 after being associated with the organisation since 2011. Vikamsey will also be inducted into the company’s board from April 1, 2023.
• During his tenure at Hitachi Payment Services, Vikamsey has been responsible for various functions including finance, strategy, development, analytics, white-label ATM programme, and allied business domains. Irani will continue to be associated with the company as an advisor.

100 percent electrification:

• Indian Railways completed 100 percent electrification of the Railway network in Haryana State in March 2023. It has also become the first Indian state to achieve 100% railway network electrification.
• The existing Broad Gauge network of Haryana is 1,701 route kilometres, which is now 100% electrified, resulting in reduced dependence on imported crude oil, and saving foreign exchange.

Manipur government:

• The Manipur government has decided to identify refugees from Myanmar who are staying in the state and keep them at the designated centers. Around 5,000 immigrants have fled from Myanmar, following the military coup in Feb 2021.
• Refugees will stay in temporary detention centers and will be returned to Myanmar after the situation improves. Manipur shares 400 km of unfenced border with Myanmar.

MoD:

• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract worth over Rs 1,700 crore with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) for the procurement of Next Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (Long range) (NGMMCB-LR) and BrahMos Missiles under the Buy (Indian) Category.
• Delivery of NGMMCBs equipped with supersonic BrahMos Missiles is expected to start in 2027, and they will significantly improve the Indian Navy’s ability to carry out multi-directional maritime strikes.
• According to the Ministry of Defence, BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) is a joint venture between India and Russia that plays a vital role in developing the next generation surface-to-surface missile with increased range.

Punjab and Haryana Court:

• The Punjab and Haryana Court recently utilized the assistance of an AI chatbot called ChatGPT to make a decision regarding a bail application in a criminal case, marking the first time an Indian court has done so.
• The bench, led by Justice Anoop Chitkara, requested feedback from ChatGPT during the hearing of the bail petition filed by an individual who was taken into custody in June 2020 for charges of criminal conspiracy, murder, rioting, and criminal intimidation.

New design lab:

• India has established a new design lab in Ahmedabad that aims to facilitate space sector start-ups in converting their inventive concepts into practical models at a faster pace.
• The Space Systems Design Lab, run by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), has advanced analysis and simulation software, such as mission simulation, spacecraft and payload modeling and optimization, and ground station and launch vehicle avionics.
• According to Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, the lab’s resources will help start-ups to build prototypes with fewer iterations, resulting in significant cost savings on research and development.

Full exemption:

• The Central Government has given full exemption from basic customs duty on all drugs and food for special medical purposes imported for personal use for treatment of all Rare Diseases listed under the National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021.
• The Government has also fully exempted Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) used in treatment of various cancers from basic customs duty.

10% reservation:

• The Karnataka government has notified the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category to provide 10% reservation in education and employment. Muslims have been included under this category as per the Cabinet decision.
• The five communities of Brahmins, Arya Vaisyas, Mudaliars, Jains, and Nagarathas have been identified to benefit from the EWS reservation in Karnataka.

Tamil Nadu Events:

Vaikom Satyagraha:

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on 30 March 2023 announced a year-long celebration to commemorate Vaikom Satyagraha, the historical struggle against untouchability.
• The Malayalam translation of the Tamil research work Vaikom Porattam authored by Pazha Adhiyaman would also be released. Vaikom Award would be presented on September 17 every year to personalities or organisations.

Metro rail service:

• It has been suggested that there is a possibility of constructing three lines of metro rail service in and around Trichy city for a distance of 68 km. The first line will be constructed from Samayapuram to Vayalur for a distance of 18.7 km.
• A second line of 26 km from Duvakkudi to Panjapur will be constructed. Following this, a third line has been constructed for a distance of 23.3 km from Junction to Ring Road in Mathur area.

International Events:

UAE-Israel:

• The UAE-Israel Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which was signed on May 31, 2022, will come into effect on April 1, 2023.
• Under the new agreement, tariffs will be removed on more than 96% of products which covers 99% of the traded goods between the countries.
• The UAE-Israel CEPA is now the second of the UAE’s new foreign-trade deals after the UAE-India CEPA in May 2022.

NATO:

• Turkey’s parliament, on 31 March 2023 voted to approve Finland’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership bid to join the security organization.
• Finland will become the 31st member of NATO after Turkey’s parliament voted to approve its application. Finland will now be formally admitted into Nato at its next summit, taking place in July in Lithuania.

UK:

• The UK has signed a deal to join a trade pact with 11 Asia and Pacific nations, three years after it officially left the European Union.
• The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership was established in 2018, and includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

International Day of Drug Checking:

• The International Day of Drug Checking is an annual event that has been observed since 2017 on March 31st. The purpose of the day is to educate people about drugs and their effects and to promote harm reduction initiatives to reduce the risks associated with drug use.
• The main objective is to raise public awareness about the availability of drug checking services and organizations worldwide. The day emphasizes the importance of harm reduction actions related to drugs and aims to decrease drug-related risks.

World Backup Day:

• World Backup Day is an annual event that takes place on March 31st to raise awareness about the importance of data backup and protection.
• The day encourages individuals and organizations to take proactive steps to safeguard their data and prevent the loss of important information due to hardware failure, cyberattacks, or other unforeseen events.

Transgender Day of Visibility:

• Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual holiday observed on March 31st to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of transgender people, as well as to raise awareness of the discrimination and violence faced by the transgender community worldwide.
• Transgender Day of Visibility is an important opportunity to celebrate the diversity of gender identities and expressions and to promote understanding and acceptance of the transgender community.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan:

• Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, has announced his eldest son Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.
• Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been appointed as the country’s new vice president. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed and Sheikh Hasbin Zayed, were announced as deputy rulers of Abu Dhabi.

Sports Events:

Aravindh Chithambaram:

• Aravindh Chithambaram won the Delhi International Open chess title on 30 March 2023. Georgia’s Luka Paichadze took the second spot with nine points. Aravindh Chithambaram Veerappan Indian chess grandmaster.
• He won the Indian chess championships twice, in 2018 and 2019. He earned his international master title in 2014 and his grandmaster title in 2015.